


Burn

by Crazy_Dumpling



Category: Legion (2010)
Genre: M/M, Pre-Movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-01
Updated: 2010-02-01
Packaged: 2017-10-06 22:35:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_Dumpling/pseuds/Crazy_Dumpling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael and Gabriel take a trip to ancient Babylon to deal with a renegade sorcerer. Things don't quite go according to plan. Set pre-movie, so no spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burn

**Author's Note:**

> This fic uses a few terms readers might not know, so have a mini-glossary:
> 
> \- [Nephilim](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim) were believed to be the offspring of Fallen angels and men.  
> \- [Ziggurats](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat) are like Babylonian pyramids. They are temples instead of tombs.  
> \- [Ishtar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar) was the Babylonian goddess of sex and fertility. Her temple is said to have been home to 'sacred' prostitutes.
> 
> Also, no, I have no idea why I set this fic in Babylon, but it sort of fits.

It begins with a routine journey to earth, when the Father sends them both to Babylon to investigate reports of a new, demonic style of necromancy in the city. The occult practitioners are led by a nephilim presently disguised as a court official in high favour, so Michael and Gabriel are assigned to the task because of the former's affinity with mankind, and because Gabriel is one of the few archangels to be untouched by the corruption of nephilim magic. They are permitted to disguise themselves in unadorned robes, and their wings are covered by loose cloaks that conceal their shape. Gabriel does not bring his customary mace, but exchanges it for a sickle sword, and Michael takes a pouch of heavy silver coins that he straps to his belt alongside his own sword.

"This will be a short trip," Gabriel says, as they prepare to leave Heaven. He looks slightly ill at ease with his human disguise, fingering the fringe of his robes with an expression of distaste.

"It will be an interesting one," Michael counters, a gleam in his eye.

They bow before the Father's throne and are whisked to earth in a whirl of golden light.

***

In the end, Michael is right, though Gabriel is not so sure about his brother's definition of 'interesting'. Getting into the ziggurat where the necromancers conduct their rituals would have been easy enough if they were not in mufti, but Michael insists on being as low-profile as possible and so they pretend to be magicians from neighbouring Akkadian towns who have heard of the magic being performed in Babylon and want to join the coven. Michael does a few minor tricks with fire and water which is enough to get them noticed by one of the group's lackeys.

After several hefty bribes to the right contacts, they are granted entry to the inner sanctum of the group one night; it is a small shrine at the top of a ziggurat dedicated to Marduk by the river Euphrates, standing apart from the rest of the city. Though the necromancers are not priests, they have managed to requisition the ziggurat for their own use and the complex is heavily guarded day and night. This would not ordinarily prove a problem either, but just as the two angels begin to fight their way up the ramp that leads towards the shrine and the nephilim menace within, Gabriel suddenly freezes in mid-step, his arms poised to deliver the killing blow to an approaching guardsman. Michael, who is further behind his brother, sees the circle drawn in goat's blood on the ground too late to help. He lifts his own sword, kills the man, his anger rising dangerously all the while, and screams his challenge, just as the nephilim sorcerer rushes out of the shrine, his demonic nature betrayed by the stink of the charnel house that clings to him. One of his acolytes, a woman dressed in nothing more than a bare shift of undyed linen, follows close behind him, her hair loose about her shoulders and her dark eyes wide as she takes in the scene of destruction; the guards have all been killed, and the weaker occultists as well. Then she sees Gabriel who has lost his cloak in the fight; his wings are outstretched, reaching up towards the night sky.

"A demon!" She shrieks and runs towards him. She cannot be more than fifteen. Gabriel has by now managed to fight against the enchantment and regained the use of his limbs, though he is still unable to free himself from the circle ward. "Which one is he, O Learned One? Oh, he is much more beautiful than I thought a demon could be! Is this the one I am to lie with?"

Michael looks over to see Gabriel protest this misidentification violently, but he cannot hear any sound leaving Gabriel's mouth. The magic of the circle is strong, and it will sap his strength rapidly unless Michael can save him first. He turns, is about to attack the sorcerer and the woman, when dust is blown sharply in his face. He does not expect it, and it chokes him before he realises what is happening, sending him to his knees as it flows into his eyes and nose and mouth.

"Burn," the nephilim says, lowering his hand. Michael does not know how the wretch managed to sneak up on him so quickly. "Let us see how you deal with human emotions, angel. Do not think we were totally unaware of your mission here. It is a nuisance, but only a minor setback. For you see, my talented student here," he indicates the girl, "is about to beget the next generation of my kind with your brother's kind cooperation."

Michael is still trying to clear his lungs of the dust when the nephilim turns away and walks towards the circle, murmuring incantations under his breath. Michael's eyes are watering, but he can see Gabriel being forced onto one knee by the magic, and he can hear the excited squeals of the girl as the nephilim begins to increase the volume of his chanting. Gabriel's arms are pinned to his sides now, and the nephilim nods at the girl, who rushes into the circle, unaffected by the magic. She begins to remove Gabriel's robes, pawing at them like some wild animal in her haste. Then her blood-stained fingers are moving over Gabriel's skin, learned and sure, touching him with a lover's intimacy, all the while being observed by the nephilim, who watches proceedings with a contented smile on his face.

The burning in his chest is the first sign that anything is wrong. It takes a while for Michael to pinpoint what the feeling is exactly, but as he watches the woman try and coax more of a reaction from Gabriel's prone body, he realises that it is jealousy that is curling its tendrils around his insides. _How dare the bitch touch Gabriel like that!_ The thought is irrational, of course. Angels do not become jealous, and he knows that Gabriel would not succumb to such wanton seduction. But the rage builds within him to a frightening pitch, so that his only thought is to attack both the girl and the nephilim abomination and kill them for laying hands on Gabriel.

Michael draws his sword and rushes at the nephilim, his battle cry a guttural roar. The sorcerer is taken aback only slightly, making a gesture that pushes Michael back with a gust of wind. For that split-second, however, his attention is diverted from the ritual coupling, and he steps backwards without realising it, smudging one of the symbols on the circle ward. It is enough for Gabriel to break the enchantment. He tosses the girl away before she can mount him, leaving her crumpled amongst the flagstones of the ziggurat, still breathing, and picks up his sword from where it fell. With minimal effort he swings it and collects the nephilim's head, the blade carving easily through flesh and bone. The nephilim's body falls to the ground, spraying black blood over the stones.

Gabriel kicks the head away, looks around, and is shocked to see Michael standing over the body of the girl acolyte, his blazing sword in hand, a murderous expression on his face. Gabriel can hear her frightened whimper and smell the fear radiating off her body.

"Michael," he says carefully, "this child is not a fully initiated sorceress. You know this. Our Lord has only asked for the lives of those who consorted in full communion with the fallen crossbreed."

In reply, Michael favours his brother with a wild look. "She _touched_ you, Gabriel. Like a lover." The implication is obvious - _she has no right_. He places the point of the sword under her chin and lifts it up to look at her. "She was going to _fuck_ you like a common whore!"

This is worrying. That Michael would be so angry with a little child who knows nothing of angels or true magic is against his most basic nature. Before Michael can deliver the coup de grâce, however, Gabriel manages to fly over and knock the sword out of his brother's hands. Michael sags against him, his breath warm on the skin of Gabriel's neck.

"Leave now," Gabriel tells the crying girl, "and do not meddle with the dead any longer. Serve Ishtar more faithfully, child. Do not leave your post at the temple until your term is over and _do not_ dabble any further in things you have no understanding of."

She nods and runs away, the sound of her sobbing fading as she dashes down the stone ramp. Now that they are alone, Gabriel looks at Michael and is dismayed by the flush colouring his cheeks.

"What did that sorcerer do to you?" He asks, worried.

"A… a spell." Michael manages, "Gabriel. I - we. It _burns_. We should go back. Quickly."

But they cannot travel back to Heaven just yet. Michael is only semi-conscious now, swaying on his feet, and Gabriel is too weak from his fight to free himself from the enchantments of the nephilim to fly for both of them. Instead he finds his cloak and Michael's sword and makes sure that they are both dressed as discreetly as possible before helping Michael down the ramp and back into Babylon's twisted streets. Though it is the third watch of the night, an innkeeper is persuaded by the last of Michael's silver coins to give them a room after they have roused him from his bed.

"Did you get into trouble with the night watch?" He asks, as Gabriel carries Michael to the room. Michael's breathing is laboured, and Gabriel still sports bloodstains on his clothes. "Will there be soldiers at my door?"

"Not if you keep your mouth shut." Gabriel says, and closes the door in the innkeeper's startled face.

A murmured blessing seals the room off and banishes the memory of their entrance from the innkeeper's mind. That done, Gabriel places the oil lamp the innkeeper gave him on a small rickety table and opens the window above a narrow bed. Moonlight shines in and illuminates the room in a cold light, its luminance surpassing the cheery glow of the lamp. Gabriel pushes Michael onto the bed and places a hand on Michael's brow. It is burning hot, which worries Gabriel greatly; angels, after all, are immune to human fevers and other such diseases. At the touch of his hand, however, Michael moans and mumbles something under his breath. Before Gabriel can do anything else, he pulls at his robes, lifting them over his head and throwing them onto the floor. This seems to cool him a bit and he quiets down for a few minutes, his breathing slowing to a steady sound, his eyes shut.

Gabriel thinks this is a good sign, and unstraps both his and Michael's swords from his belt, laying them on the table. Then he takes the cloak off and stretches out his wings, careful not to burn himself with the oil lamp. He gathers up Michael's robes and places them on the table alongside the weapons, smiling in spite of feeling a little like a nursemaid.

A low moan from the bed makes him stop. Michael is arching off the bed, his eyes wide and the pupils blown, his hands clutching his chest. He turns to stare at Gabriel, and the look in his eyes is desperate.

"Gabriel! I…" A sharp intake of breath. "I can't breathe, Gabriel. It's burning me! Please - !"

Gabriel crosses the room in one stride and pushes Michael back down onto the bed so he can assess the extent of his brother's injuries. The moment his palm makes contact with the skin of Michael's chest, however, Michael's eyes roll back into his head and he utters a low moan. Before Gabriel can take his hand away, he grips hold with both of his hands.

"You feel so _good_, Gabriel," he gasps. "So cool. Don't go."

"I won't," Gabriel says, nonplussed. "What is _wrong_, Michael? Tell me where it hurts. What do you need?"

For a moment, Michael is confused, then realisation dawns on him and his expression turns predatory.

"You."

Without warning, he pulls Gabriel towards him for a bruising kiss, his lips forcing Gabriel's apart urgently, his tongue diving deep into Gabriel's mouth. It is like being kissed by a whirlwind, and despite his shock, Gabriel finds himself returning the kiss with equal intensity, his blood stoked by the adrenaline of the fight and the sight of Michael's naked body limned in moonlight. Michael growls low in his throat, obviously pleased with this reaction, and pulls away his lips to howl in pleasure as Gabriel's arms encircle his waist and pull him hard against his body. Gabriel is glad that the charm on the door blocks sound as well as entry, but is immediately more concerned with helping Michael rid him of his own robes, the linen tearing with a loud ripping sound when Michael becomes too impatient to touch him.

"Off." Michael growls, then sighs with a broken sigh of contentment as Gabriel lowers himself over him. He kisses whatever parts of Gabriel's body his lips can touch; his arms, chest, neck, jaw. Then he pulls Gabriel close for another kiss, spreading his legs eagerly when Gabriel slips a thigh between them. Gabriel lifts one leg over his hip and pauses, making Michael whine.

"This is too fast!" He murmurs against Michael's jaw, trying to catch his breath. "You aren't well. We should not be rushing -"

"I need this!" Michael interrupts, his voice shaking with need. "Please, Gabriel. I need you. Every time you touch me the burning eases off a while."

And Gabriel thinks the nephilim must have infected Michael with some sort of demonic lust for him to want such a hurried affair. They have lain together many times before, but it has always been slow and unrushed, with Michael preferring to draw out his pleasure until Gabriel is begging for release before indulging him.

He does not think very much further because Michael takes matters into his own hands, pushing himself down onto Gabriel with a shaky sigh of relief. It is not enough, though, and soon they are rocking together; Gabriel holding onto Michael's hips as he thrusts in deep and sure, Michael moaning his pleasure loudly, his back arching off the straw mattress, his wings casting strange shadows on the walls. There is something compelling about the wanton noises of pleasure that Michael is making and Gabriel feels the last threads of his self-control snapping as he reaches down to pump Michael's cock, slick with pre-cum.

"Don't stop!" Michael's exhortation turns into a groan as Gabriel's pace quickens. "Mmm, Gabriel, please. I need - ah! - I need -"

Michael does not manage to finish the sentence but arches his back and pours himself into Gabriel's palm, his mouth open in a silent scream. The sight of his bare neck and the collar encircling it proves too much of a temptation and Gabriel bites down on the soft flesh as he comes, stars dancing behind his closed eyes, his fingers finally releasing their grip on Michael's hips.

Silence. Nothing else can be heard but the soft chirp of crickets outside. After a while, Gabriel sits up, the bed creaking ominously under him, and presses the palm of his clean hand against Michael's forehead. It is cool to the touch now, and Michael regards him with a distinctly bemused look, the pupils of his eyes back to normal.

"You seem much recovered," Gabiel says, feeling relieved. He makes to get up, but Michael pulls him back to bed, his arms and legs twining themselves around Gabriel's. "Michael! We must return soon. He will want to know what we have found here."

"Later," Michael whispers, rolling them so he is on top of Gabriel this time. "Though I feel much more like myself now, I think we should wait until you have regained your full strength."

"And this is your plan to heal me? To sap me of it first?"

"I told you this would be an interesting trip," Michael says, pulling Gabriel in for another kiss.


End file.
